I’ve always wondered how long it would take to walk a slow mile, but the competitor in me won’t let me do the research! Last Saturday’s Race for the Cure 5k in Washington, D.C. gave me the perfect opportunity to find out. Between my broken little toe (don’t ask, it’s not an impressive athletic story) and the 47,000 other participants swaggering pace, I managed to finish in precisely one hour – that’s 20 minutes per mile. GASP. Well, at least now my 5k time in the triathlon last month feels like an Olympic world record.
But this race wasn’t about competition, I remind myself. This was about comaraderie, teamwork. My friend Tommy Tomlo of Human Development Systems rallied a team of 40 people, friends and clients, to raise money for breast cancer research. The walk was a celebration of life, survivors, and the wonderful sisterhood of women. Fit or unfit, this is an event that everyone should take part in at least once in their lifetime.